Travel money
Travel money in Portugal: cash or card?
Cards work nearly everywhere and the ATM network is one of the best in Europe. The thing to learn on day one is the couvert: the bread and olives on your table are a charge you only pay if you eat them.
euro (EUR, €) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Small tascas, markets, some pastelarias, rural cafés, and the odd place with a card minimum.
Everything else, contactless included — Portugal took to cards early and it shows.
A small float in €10s and €20s. Multibanco machines are everywhere if you need more.
Independent ATMs in tourist streets. Multibanco machines are the ones to use, and they are easy to spot.
The money itself
- €5Grey
- €10Red
- €20Blue
- €50Orange
- €100Green
- €200Yellow-brown
1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, then €1 and €2. Every coin is legal tender across the whole euro area whatever national design is on the back, so change collected in one country spends fine in the next.
Multibanco is the shared network behind almost every cash machine in the country, so the machine you find is the same machine everywhere — same screens, same limits, same behaviour. Anything that is not Multibanco is an independent operator, and it will cost you more.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in Portugal and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Visa / Mastercard
WorksAccepted almost everywhere, contactless included and down to small amounts. Card penetration here is high and has been for years — a €1.20 coffee taps without comment in most places.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
WorksWorks at any contactless terminal, and clears above the €50 tap ceiling without a PIN because of the biometric check.
Cash (euros)
WorksAlways accepted and still useful in tascas, markets and small towns, some of which set a card minimum. A modest float covers everything cash is needed for.
MB WAY
Residents onlyThe Portuguese phone-payment app, tied to a Portuguese bank account and phone number. You will see the logo at tills and online checkouts; use a card instead, which every one of those places also takes.
American Express
Works, with a catchHotels, larger restaurants and chains. Independents and small businesses usually not. A second card rather than a first.
Cash
Portugal is comfortably card-first, and unusually for southern Europe it has been for a long time — Multibanco arrived early, and paying by card for small amounts has been normal here for a generation. Most days you will not need cash at all.
Where it still helps: a small tasca with a handwritten menu, a market stall, a village café, a pastelaria that sets a card minimum of a few euros. Twenty or thirty euros in small notes covers all of it.
There is no need to arrive with euros in hand. Multibanco machines are in every town, in supermarkets and at every airport, and they cost less than any exchange counter.
Cards
Contactless is standard and the tap ceiling is €50 with a physical card, above which the terminal asks for a PIN. Phone payments are not subject to the cap.
Acceptance is broad enough that the notable gaps are American Express and the occasional small business that wants a few euros minimum. Visa and Mastercard are safe assumptions.
Decline dynamic currency conversion wherever it is offered — at terminals and cash machines alike, being billed in your own currency means the merchant's processor sets the rate rather than your card network.
ATMs
Almost every cash machine in Portugal belongs to Multibanco, the shared network the banks built together. They do not surcharge foreign cards, they are everywhere including supermarkets and petrol stations, and they all behave identically.
The catch is the ceiling: Multibanco machines dispense a maximum of €200 per transaction, and commonly €400 in a day. If your own bank charges a flat fee per withdrawal, that cap is what makes the arithmetic annoying rather than the Portuguese end of it.
Independent machines — Euronet and similar, in tourist streets and airports — charge several euros and push a conversion offer. A Multibanco machine is usually within a street or two and is the one to walk to.
Changing money
Exchange counters exist in Lisbon and the Algarve for visitors who want them, and there is very little reason to be one of those visitors. A Multibanco withdrawal is cheaper and available at any hour.
If you are arriving from outside the euro area, take a small amount from a machine at the airport and leave the exchange counters alone.
Euros left at the end of a trip keep their value, so there is nothing to convert back and no spread to pay twice.
Costs that are not the price
The couvert is optional
The bread, olives, cheese or sardine paste that appears on your table without being ordered is the couvert, and it is charged per item only if you eat it. Leaving it untouched means it comes off the bill, and asking for it to be taken away is perfectly normal. Refusing it politely is not rude — it is the system working as intended.
Tipping is small
Round up, or leave 5–10% after a good meal. Service is priced in, nobody depends on tips, and leaving nothing after a coffee is entirely normal.
Tourist tax in the cities
Lisbon, Porto and a growing list of municipalities charge a per-person, per-night tax on accommodation, capped at a few nights per stay. It is usually collected at the property rather than in what you paid a booking site.
You can reclaim VAT if you live outside the EU
Minimum spend is €50 in a single shop on the same day, and validation happens electronically at the airport's e-Taxfree kiosks rather than by stamp. Services — hotels, meals, tours — cannot be reclaimed, only goods.
Paying for transport
Lisbon takes a bank card at the gate
The metro accepts contactless bank cards and phones directly at the barrier, though tapping is priced a little above the fare you get by loading a Navegante or Viva Viagem card at a machine. For a short visit the convenience usually wins; for a longer stay, load the card.
Trams, buses and trains
Lisbon's trams and buses are cheaper with a loaded card than paying the driver, and the 28 is where visitors pay the on-board premium without realising. CP sells train tickets by card online and at stations, with cheaper fares booked ahead on the long-distance routes.
Taxis and rides
Taxis take cards and are metered; app rides settle in the app. Airport journeys are short and metered rather than fixed-price in both Lisbon and Porto.
What you may carry in and out
Cash payment cap
Cash payments between an individual and a business are capped at €3,000 in Portugal, and €10,000 where the payer lives abroad. It is a limit on the transaction, not on what you may carry.
Carrying cash across the EU border
€10,000 or more entering or leaving the European Union must be declared to customs. Travel within the EU requires no declaration.
Common questions about money in Portugal
What is the couvert in Portuguese restaurants?
The bread, olives, butter or paste brought to your table unasked. It is charged per item, but only if you eat it — leave it untouched and it should not appear on the bill, and you can ask for it to be taken away. It is a normal practice rather than a scam, but it does catch visitors who assume it is complimentary.
Do I need cash in Portugal?
Not much. Cards work nearly everywhere including small amounts, and card use here is long established. Keep €20–30 for small tascas, markets and village cafés, a few of which set a card minimum.
Can tourists use MB WAY?
No. MB WAY needs a Portuguese bank account and phone number. You will see it offered at tills and online checkouts, and everywhere that accepts it also takes a card, which is what a visitor uses.
Are there ATM fees in Portugal?
Multibanco machines — which is nearly all of them — do not surcharge foreign cards. They do cap withdrawals at €200 a transaction, which matters if your own bank charges a flat fee. Independent machines in tourist areas charge several euros and push dynamic currency conversion; use Multibanco and choose euros.
Can I tap my bank card on the Lisbon metro?
Yes, contactless bank cards and phones work at the barriers. The tapped fare is slightly higher than the fare loaded onto a Navegante or Viva Viagem card at a machine, so a longer stay is cheaper with the card and a short trip is simpler with a tap.
How much should I tip in Portugal?
Very little. Rounding up is normal and 5–10% is generous after a good meal. Nothing is expected in cafés or bars, and service is already included in the prices.
Can I claim VAT back in Portugal?
If you live outside the EU, on goods of at least €50 from one shop on the same day. Validation is electronic at e-Taxfree kiosks in the airport before check-in. Hotels, restaurants and tours are services and cannot be reclaimed.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.